Looking After Two
by Infamousplot
Summary: "It didn't matter what Knuckles said. He was a kid, like Tails and me. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that the stubborn, bratty echidna needed SOMEONE, even if just to pick fights with." Takes place after Sonic and Knuckles, Sonic and Knuckles brotherly.


**I was on Sonic Retro on one of my sick days... And I found all of the original character profiles of the Sonic trio. You know, the legit Japanese ones they had in the very beginning? Well, apparently, originally Tails was 10 (instead of 8), Knuckles was 15 (instead of 16) and Sonic was 18 (instead of 15). The idea of Knuckles being younger than Sonic seemed cute to me. I like the idea of a younger Knuckles, who secretly admires Sonic but would never admit it, and strives to be as good/better than him. Thus this was spawned. **

**Obviously, I don't own Sonic or his friends... And this takes place directly after Sonic and Knuckles. Oh yeah, in it, Tails is 6, Knuckles is 10, and Sonic is 13. **

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><p>A wild wind whipped over the floating island, tossing the tops of the trees wildly overhead. Looking up, I caught a few glimpses of the sky before the leaves settled down.<p>

"Alright Knucklehead, I've got to admit," I grinned, looking over at the echidna. "You've got a pretty cool pad up here." He raised an eyebrow -probably at my slang -then continued ignoring me, stopping to set the Master Emerald down at his feet.

It had been about a week since Knuckles and I had called for a truce. It had been a rather shaky alliance at first, built more on convenience than trust, but after we'd helped him get his Master Emerald back, the hot-headed little brat seemed to be more willing to believe we really had nothing against his island home. That, and the little fact that we'd saved him from certain doom (death by skydiving) seemed to have helped too. But that still hadn't bridged the gap Robotnik had carved between us. Most of the time Tails and I'd spent on this island, Knuckles had been unwittingly pitted against us, and I'd learned to dislike him pretty quickly. Now that we were allies, I didn't hate him -and he seemed like a nice kid, deep (deep, deep, deep...) down -but that didn't mean he wasn't annoying as heck. The little hot-head took his job way too seriously, and he was dead-set on trying to show me up whenever he got the chance. Apparently, In his mind I'd become his rival, and while I'd concede that strength-wise I was no match for him, the idea of constantly rivaling the brat didn't sound very appealing to me.

Looking back, I noticed that Knuckles had stopped a few feet back, and I mimicked this action.

"Need a breather?" I asked, cocking my head. Knuckles looked up at me from the Master Emerald.

"No." He replied, somewhat defensively. "I just need to be getting the Master Emerald back to the shrine soon." He added, somewhat hastily, and I rolled my eyes. For someone who'd only been around for a decade, he sure was dedicated to his job.

"Right. Well, we'll be out of your hair soon enough." I smirked,

"Yeah..." Knuckles frowned, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. I could tell he needed to say something, but the look on his face told me if that, if he'd had a choice, he'd just keep his mouth shut. "I guess... You guys are going now, huh?" This wasn't what he'd wanted to say, but there was still a tinge of reluctance in his voice.

"Aw. You gonna miss us?" I teased, receiving a sharp glare from the echidna.

"Not in your life, hedgehog!" He retorted, his tone implying he'd die before he missed _my_ company. Grinning wryly, I shook my head.

"Yeah, well, we should be heading out soon..." I looked around, trying to track down Tails. He'd dove into the bushes awhile ago and I hadn't seen him since. "You seen Tails?" Still glancing around, I expecting to see his tails sticking out or some leaves rustling. Knuckles looked up, mildly surprised.

"The furball? Now that you mention it... I haven't seen him in awhile. No wonder it's so quiet." He smirked. "Doesn't he come when you call'im?" Knuckles grinned. Now it was my turn to be peeved.

"He's not a _pet_." My tone was matter-o-fact, if not scornful, but Knuckles only shrugged. "You didn't seem to mind him when he stopped you and your emerald from taking a face-plant into the ocean." At this, the echidna's face paled considerably, and he made a point of pretending to scan the jungle on the opposite side of the path to avoid making eye contact. Sighing, I shook my head. This kid was so stubborn and obnoxious... I was used to dealing with kids my age, and little kids were a cinch now thanks to Tails, but I'd never encountered a moody pre-teen. _How old was he again? Eleven? Ten?_

Frowning, I paused, glancing back at the echidna. He was calling Tails' name into the jungle (and he looked rather irritated that he wasn't getting any sort of response), apparently unaware of my watchful eyes. For the first time, I realized that he was shorter than me. Bonier too. When he'd been against us, observing his physique hadn't been on my mind, and neither had his age. It had never occurred to me that I was fighting some kid three years younger than myself, but now that I was aware of it... I couldn't stop thinking about it. Knuckles was ten. Sure, I'd only been eleven when I'd first taken on Robotnik, but now that I was so _used_ to it, the thought of any other kid doing it seemed bizarre to me.

Briefly, I recalled my fall from Robotnik's Winged Fortress. If it hadn't been for Tails, I'd have been dead. And just a few hours ago, the same fate could have befallen Knuckles. I remembered falling down from space, tearing through the atmosphere, plummeting toward certain doom, knowing there was no way to save myself. I'd been scared out of my mind, knowing that within a matter of minutes, I'd be dead. Knuckles was a year younger than I'd been, and I doubt he'd expected us to swoop in when we did. For all he'd known, those moment of tumbling through the air could have been his last.

_He was probably just as terrified as I was,_ I thought; a sense of sympathy for the echidna starting to form. _Though he'd never admit it... He must have been scared, falling so far from the Island with no way to save himself. Looking at him now though..._ The pale, dead-eyed look Knuckles had gotten after I'd mentioned his free-falling episode hadn't escaped me. While he hid behind that tough guy, loner wall he'd put around himself; I could see what was really down there: a scared, lonely kid.

Sighing, knuckles turned away from the jungle to face me -looking rather peeved.

"Listen, I just wanted to say-" He paused, eyes narrowing. "What're you looking at?" He snarled, anger flashing in his eyes. Realizing I'd been caught, I rubbed the back of my neck reflexively, a little embarrassed.

"Nothing." I assured him. "You were saying?" Knuckles frowned, looking away. Reluctance emanated from him as he spoke again.

"I just wanted... To thank you." He muttered. The tone he used made it sound as though it were physically painful for him to say these words. "Thanks, for helping me get the Master Emerald back. I..." He sighed loudly, perhaps a bit overly dramatic, but he continued none the less. "I couldn't have done it without you two." A little taken aback by his sudden gratitude, I grinned. There was a strange sense of victory to be had from coaxing a simple 'Thank-you' from the hot-headed echidna, and I was undeniably pleased.

"Hey, don't mention it." Knuckles rolled his eyes when I flashed him a thumbs up, but his muzzle was still a little red with embarrassment. I couldn't blame him. He'd screwed up big time by trusting Robotnik (though I guess I had to cut him some slack, after all, how was he supposed to know the first living person he ever met was a psychotic megalomaniac?), and he'd needed the help of the two people he'd been fighting against to set things right. By saying thanks he was putting himself out there, trusting me not to take advantage of this moment and shove his mistakes in his face.

He'd gone over to where the Master Emerald was sitting -almost patiently -and was attempting to get a good grip on it to he could heave it onto his back. Feeling warmly toward him due to his moment of gratuity, I walked over.

"You want some help?" I asked. He scoffed at this question, an obvious "No."

"Look, I may have needed your help getting Robotnik off the island, but now that that's over with, I _don't_ need your help." Knuckles scowled, indignant. This put a considerable dent in my mood. _Great, and we're back to square one..._ I sighed inwardly, wondering how the heck I was supposed to deal with this kid. "I don't need anyone. I can take care of myself." He huffed, though it seemed like he was talking more to himself than to me.

For the moment, I gave up on the echidna, scanning the jungle. Having been occupied with the obnoxious red-head, I'd forgotten about Tails -and now I was stating to get worried. Knuckles still had tons of traps set up out there, what if tails had stumbled into one and gotten caught, or worse, hurt?

As Knuckles returned his attention to his precious Master Emerald, he was impaled by a flying ball of orange fur, and I was hit with a wave of relief.

"What the-!" Knuckles managed to let out a cry of shock before getting knocked to the ground.

"Gotcha!" Tails cried, having made his triumphant return. Knuckles turned his head up to glare at the kit who was sitting happily upon his back. "What the heck? You little... get off!" He shoved Tails off, and the kit retreated, scampering behind my legs.

"Waah! Do something, Sonic!" He clung to my leg, nearly costing me my balance as I stuck out an arm to hold Knuckles back.

"Lemme at'm!" Knuckles hollered, arms flailing wildly. Rolling my eyes, I took a sidestep, carrying Tails along on my leg and sending the echidna sprawling across the ground.

"Hah!" Tails stuck his tongue out as Knuckles glared; picking himself and brushing himself off with a rather embarrassed look on his face. He glowered at Tails and me before turning toward the Master Emerald and lifting the massive gem onto his back.

"Seeya." He growled, shoving his way through the thick brush and disappearing into the greenery. Tails' ears drooped, and he looked deflated.

"Where's he going?" He asked quietly.

"Home." I replied, untangling the kit from my legs. Tails frowned.

"Oh." He sounded dejected. Looking up at me sadly, he tugged on my glove. "Is he mad because I tackled him?" He asked timidly. Grinning, I ruffled his hair, making him giggle.

"Nah. I think it's just cuz he's Knuckles." I shrugged, taking his hand and leading him back toward the Tornado. I'd only just met him, but already I was starting to pick up on the sort of guy he was. Of course, battling him and being stalked relentlessly by him had helped quite a bit. "Anyway, we gotta jet squirt." Tails beamed up at me.

"Okay!" He raced forward, then halted, looking back hopefully. "Sonic, will we come back here and see Knuckles again?" He asked innocently. Glancing back at the jungle, I smiled.

"Yeah... I have a feeling we'll be coming back again real soon."

It didn't matter what Knuckles said about not needing anyone. He was still a kid, like Tails and me. As much as he'd like to deny it, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that the stubborn, bratty echidna needed _someone_, even if it was just someone to pick fights with. It looked like I was going to be looking after two from now on.

Looking back at Tails, I grinned.

"Let's go. There's a plate of chili dogs waiting down there for us." I gave him a thumbs up, and he grinned back, hopping into the plane.

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><p><strong>Okay, it's not that great, but I really wanted to get it up... I'm not satisfied with it. oh well, I'll try to fix it later. If you have anything to say, please do. Review! Thank you!<strong>


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